There is an ache to spring that I feel when I notice the flowers starting to bloom along the Hutt highway. Falling towards the sun. First swim of the season, when it’s not warm enough yet. You get a haircut. Here are some things to fill the afternoons that get longer.
The Future is Death at Toi Pōneke, until 13 October
Taupuruariki Brightwell, Leala Faleseuga, Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho, Rex Paget, Janice aka Hy-bee Ikiua Pasi-Taito
curated by Leilani A. Sio
This exhibition considers the fragmenting of connections between tangata whenua and tangata o le moana that have been caused by colonisation. Shifting between different media, this exhibition moves away from a linear temporal perspective. These artists imagine a future for the Pacific that is not structured by a colonial past.
Edit for Equity: Art & Literature at Adam Art Gallery, 13 October, 12-4pm, entry free but registration required
The contributions of women, trans, and non-binary people to Wikipedia account for a minority of entries to the database. Consequently, the information on Wikipedia is largely shaped by male perspectives. This event aims to increase the visibility of people that aren’t cis males who edit or write online entries relating to art and literature in Aotearoa. People of all gender identities and expressions are welcomed.
Body fluids are poetic, not slime but nectar at Window Gallery online, http://windowgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/body-fluids-are-poetic-not-slime-but-nectar
Hana Pera Aoake
Body fluids are poetic is an interactive text, a heartbreak text. Spring is for hanging your washing out in the sun for the first time in months and crying. Produced in response to Georgina Watson’s project Larks in the dawn, Aoake writes about the trauma of colonisation and modes of grief.
Can Tame Anything at The Dowse, until 25 November
Ruth Buchanan, Alicia Frankovich, Mata Aho Collective and Sriwhana Spong
Concepts of body, site, objects, and language thread through this exhibition. The intersections between these things are what I am most interested by. How does language feel? How does the presence of a body in space transform a work? How can we visualise the production of knowledge?
Mother and Daughter on Hiatus at MEANWHILE, opening 5 October
Claudia Edwards
Edwards’ painted friezes explore the tensions that are often present in the relationship between a mother and daughter. Often these arguments are like intense sporting matches, but devoid of a referee, left to reach a bitter or entertaining stalemate. These paintings preserve this rivalry so the viewer can be the final witness in the gallery.